Hi Readers!
Yesterday brought rain, funny falls, and unexpected visitors. That's what is great about working at J-Dock. Each day brings something new and interesting. If you had a chance to watch the highlights on the weather channel recently (I know, how exciting), you may have seen Seward! It has been raining for two weeks, maybe more, and has resulted in flooding and landslides. Resurrection River overflowed it's banks and left about quarter mile of Seward Highway under 1-2 feet of water, as well as swamping homes and businesses. The
road out to Lowell Point was destroyed and covered in rock, dirt, and trees, from a massive landslide, leaving many residents without access to the mainland. On one of the heaviest days of rain, Leah, the general manager, ventured up to the Anchorage airport with a friend with plans of returning the same day. So much for plans! In the few hours after their departure from Seward, the rain dumped on the southeastern Kenai Peninsula and made road impassable for their return journey, forcing them to stay at a Motel 6 in Anchorage. One of J-Dock's main concerns, especially following such erratic salmon fishing this past season, is what effect the flooding will have on future fisheries. As Bob Clark, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's chief scientist for sport fish
explains:
Fish production could dip if fast-moving water scours spawning sites of
eggs. Fewer juvenile salmon may survive if those that wind up in flood
plains don't find their way back into rivers once flooding subsides.
Not sure when this rain will let up, but it has made winterizing J-Dock quite the unpleasant experience. Today, I was moving the last of the dock carts to our storage unit, an arduous chore and worse in the beating rain. Many of the carts still had fish slime and guts on them, so I used a the handy dock hose to rinse them, when I rediscovered one of childhoods greatest past times. If the water hose has half pressure, and I hold the hose about 3 feet behind the nozzle, it will hover above the ground, looking much like a cobra. Of course I thought this was neat, and proceeded to strut around in front of the hanging station, covertly glancing up to see if Leah, who was working at the desk in the upstairs apartment, could see me showing off my skills. Finally she looks over and I decide to get fancy and walk the dog (with the hose). Everything goes wrong. The hose whips around and sprays me in the face. I panic and drop the hose which wraps my leg and sprays me up the side of the leg, so I make a break a for it, but my legs are tangled in the hose and I am sent sprawling across the deck. At this point I am soaked to the bone... As Leah describes in the
J-Dock Seafood Co. Facebook status update:
Please tell me someone was just watching the LIVE WEB CAM....Basically it was one of the funniest things ever on this
dock... Alexis Campestre was having a dancing war with the water
hose...& end of story the hose won & soaking wet man down!!!!!!!
I head back to the
Grande Alaska Lodge for a change of clothes and to catch up on emails, when Leah phones me with dinner plans. She has invited a middle aged couple from Greenville, South Carolina, two complete strangers, over for dinner. She is about to explain herself to me, over the phone, when the power goes out and the lines go dead. This being a regular occurrence in Seward, I go downstairs to eat a boiled egg, reflecting on the abrupt conversation I just had. Later, Leah explains how the couple had shared a heartbreaking story with her about them eating canned pasta sauce for lunch, so she just had to invite them for dinner. Before long Leah and I are preparing
Alaskan-Style Salmon Stuffed Halibut, a recipe borrowed from a recipe book we sell in our store at the top of J-Dock. We modified the recipe slightly, to cater to what we had available, and it came out perfect. The couple enjoyed every last bit of what was on their plates. Meanwhile, we shared stories and learned about each others backgrounds. The couple turned out to be winners of the famed
Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, and had once been selected for
America's Funniest Home Videos. They proudly showed us pictures of their 6 kids and told us about their thrifty adventures and family vacations. The night ended with FunFetti cupcakes, an exchange of contact info, pictures, and a warm feeling of doing something good. We hope to be included in their next annual Christmas newsletter!
We grilled these up during our visit to see family, first in Florida. Then later in Texas, we smoked some pink salmon and made appetizers with fresh basil, mozzarella, and tomato, and lemon pepper smoked pink salmon, with just a splash of balsalmic vinegar. Everything came out wonderfully and the family loved it. Many people think that smoking your own fish is difficult, but really it's not. Learn more about how to smoke salmon in just 4 Easy Steps.
